22 Weeks or 10 Months
by kittyonnails
Summary: Kagome find out she is pregnant. As a modern Japanese she makes the only choice she sees available. She makes an appointment for an abortion.(Complete, in 2 parts, 1 epilogue, and a related one-shot that gives the whole thing the mushy ending you all be
1. Default Chapter

22 weeks or 10 months

Inuyasha Fanfiction

By Kittyonnails

"Going somewhere?" Kagome jumped at the sound of Inuyasha's voice. Of course he had caught her trying to slip back to her own time.

"I'm going home. Just for a day or two. I'll be back soon, I just need to, study." She held up the floppy shell of her canvas backpack, "I'll bring potatoes chips and ramen. Just don't make a big deal, Ok"

Inuyasha smirked. "Like hell. You know we have to have you here to get anything done. Just 'cuz you haven't been feeling well..."

Kagome sighed. She had known it would probably come to this. After all they had been through lately, she hated to do it, but he was really pushing her.

"Sit!" She hollered and leapt down the well.

It was embarrassing, really. She was only a week away from her sixteenth birthday and buying a home pregnancy test. Her cheeks were so red now, she wondered how she would ever explain this to her family. "please let it be some awful disease." she silently prayed.

Freed from the convenience store, Kagome ran home. She had to take the test to put her mind at ease. It had been too long since her last period. She thought someone had told her that stress could cause a missed period, but she knew that wasn't the only possibility.

"How could I be so stupid?" She asked herself. She was a modern girl, she knew all about contraceptives. Somehow all that had faded away when Inuyasha held her. Their moments alone were so rare and life so fleeting in the feudal era, "at the time it seemed like the right thing to do." She told herself. They had only been together twice, how could this be happening to her?

Kagome burst in the front door, pausing only briefly to shed her shoes in the entryway. Immediately she locked herself in the bathroom. This was it. Time to find out if she was worrying over nothing. God, she hoped she was worrying over nothing.

The instructions seemed easy enough. In Japanese and simple English, they told her where to pee, and what to look for in the windows. One line for not pregnant, and two for pregnant. "Here goes nothing" she thought to herself.

The waiting was unbearable. Kagome kept glancing at the cursed stick sitting on the counter next to the sink. The seconds ticked away on her watch slowly. She didn't dare leave the bathroom. What if her mom found the test sitting there? No way, she was going to be sure before she got herself into any of that. As far as anyone knew she was still a virgin, and that's how she intended on keeping. Unless she had no choice. Kagome sighed as her watch began ticking away the seconds, counting down the last agonizing minute she had to wait.

Two lines. Two very clear lines and one in the control window. She was pregnant. Kagome's heart sank into her knees. "How am I going to tell Inuyasha?" She wondered. "There's nothing to be done." she sighed. It was clear to Kagome that she would have to get an abortion. Sixteen year old girls just don't have babies. Especially time-traveling, jewel shard detecting, high school students. Kagome shoved the packaging into the trash and picked up the test. It was time to talk to her mom.

"Really, Kagome. I thought you knew better." Her mother sighed, looking at the test. Kagome hung her head. "Sorry mom." was all she could say.

"Well, there's nothing to be done." her mother said as she picked up the phone. "I'll make you an appointment with the abortionist. We won't verify the pregnancy at the regular doctor if we don't' have to." She gave her daughter a stressed smile and petted her head. "It'll be ok, Kagome."

Kagome nodded at her mother's words. "I have to go now. If I don't get back, Inuyasha will start looking for me." Her mom shot her a stern look, but said nothing. Kagome winced, but began stuffing her backpack.

Kagome put her hand on her abdomen, right where the baby was growing. She looked down into the well. "I wonder if I'll have to keep that appointment. Life in the feudal era might cause a miscarriage." she thought. Anything seemed possible. She was so out of her element with this. She held her breath as she jumped into the well.

"Kagome!" Shippo cheered as she climbed out of the well.

"'bout damn time." Inuyasha grumbled, lifting her out. Shippo began pulling at the backpack, searching for the snacks and sweets she always brought. Kagome shrugged out of the backpack, letting it fall to the floor.

"Inuyasha, I need to talk to you." He looked at her, his intrest peaked. Shippo paused too, waiting to hear whatever it was Kagome was going to say.

"alone." she added, steering Inuyasha away from the well, and the kitsune. Inuyasha sneered back at shippo as he followed Kagome into the woods.

Kagome's cheeks were on fire again. It was time to let Inuyasha in on what they had done. She would need to go home for almost a week to have the abortion, and there was no way she could excuse herself with another lie, not to him.

"So what's up?" he asked, looking curiously at the blush on her cheeks.

"Inuyasha, remember, a few weeks ago... when we... and then, once before that..." she stammered, not really sure where to begin.

"Yes." he said, softening at the mention of such intimate moments.

"I'm pregnant." she blurted, finding no artful way to say it.

"What?" Inuyasha frowned, "that's impossible."

"Why?" Kagome looked up at him for the first time. "Why would it be impossible, we did have sex."

"Because. I'm half demon. It's almost impossible for a human woman to bear my child."

"Well, your mother was human, and I'm pregnant." Inuyasha looked away at that.

"I guess. What are we going to do? You can't go looking for the jewel until after the baby. Ten months without getting anything done. Naraku will have it all by then."

Kagome shook her head. "I'm not letting that happen. Next month, I have an appointment. I'm getting an abortion. There's just no way I can have a baby. I'm only sixteen. There's nothing to be done."

"What's an abortion? Will that help?" Inuyasha frowned at the foreign word.

"It ends the pregnancy."

"What about you? Won't that hurt you?" Inuyasha had never heard of such a thing. Sure, people tried to do it all the time, but most of the time it killed the woman as well as the child. For exactly that reason, most unwanted childeren were killed after birth. He wondered how Kagome would end her pregnancy without harming herself.

"No. I'll do it in my time. It will be painful I think, but I'll be fine."

"Kagome, are you sure about this?" Inuyasha looked at her intensely, trying to process all the information and emotion that had suddenly hit him.

"There's nothing to be done." Kagome answered and walked toward the village.

"For you." Miroku handed Kagome a small heavy bundle wrapped in a cotton cloth. "Thanks" she answered as she unfolded the wrapping. It was a stone Jizo. The patron of aborted, miscarried and stillborn children. Tears filled Kagome's eyes.

It had been a week since she returned to the feudal era with news of her condition. She hadn't intended on telling anyone but Inuyasha. Secrets were hard to keep though, and everyone seemed to know what was going on. It had, apparently, been too much for Inuyasha. He hadn't been seen for five days. Kagome hugged Miroku tightly. His understanding meant a lot. She thought about her friends' reactions. Sango and Kaede had insisted that Kagome was old enough to have a child. Shippo had cried. Inuyasha had left. Miroku seemed to be the only one who understood. "thank-you" she whispered.

"It will work itself out." Miroku said as their embrace ended. "Buddha is merciful, and Jizo will see to it that the little one gets another chance." Kagome nodded.

"I am just surprised that this is a problem. Doesn't your time have some way to prevent this?"

Kagome sighed and nodded. "Five years ago we got birth control pills. You take them, and they keep you from getting pregnant."

"Then why don't you use this potion?" He asked, wondering if perhaps the abortion she had spoken of was the potion.

"It's expensive, and only for party girls. Insurance doesn't cover it and you have to go to the doctor every three months. I'm only sixteen, so I shouldn't be needing them. Besides, I just don't have six thousand yen to spare each month. My abortion will be paid for by my mom's insurance."

Miroku frowned, thoroughly confused. "what is insurance?" he asked, not really sure where to start with the many questions her story had raised.

"Just something from the future. Don't worry about it Miroku. Thanks for the Jizo. I really do appreciate it." Kagome smiled at him as she walked away.

Talking to Miroku made her wonder why she had stayed here all week. Her appointment wasn't for another month, but she was beginning to want to go home. "Maybe with Inuyasha gone, this is my chance." Kagome thought as she slipped into the cottage. Quietly she wrote a good-bye letter and set it on top of her things. She would be back, in a month. Until then she could go home and catch up on her schoolwork. Hopefully Inuyasha would be back by the time this was all over.

"I wonder where he is." Kagome murmured, just before dropping into the dry well.

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Author Notes:

I've got another chapeter coming, and it will be up soon.

I have always been intrigued with the Japanese attitudes toward abortion and birth control. This story started forming in my mind in 2003 when a friend of mine asked my help getting her friend, a froreign exchange student from Japan, to an abortion clinic. I met another girl from Japan and learned a lot that uncomfortable afternoon. Please remember that what I am striving to discuss with this story is not the moral question, it is the attitude of the Japanese with regard to abortion and how that might play into InuYasha.


	2. Part 2

22 Weeks or 10 Months

InuYasha Fanfiction

By Kittyonnails

"Only another week." Kagome thought to herself as she looked at the date on the blackboard in the front of the classroom. She had been attending classes regularly, but it didn't seem to be helping her grades. She hadn't told anyone but her mom about her pregnancy, so her thoughts had to be kept to herself. That wasn't easy when her friends kept asking her about her boyfriend. It was impossible to know what to say to them. Consequently, she had been avoiding her friends. That only made them more suspicious. Kagome tried to concentrate on the lesson. It was algebra, one of her worst enemies. She would need all the help she could get.

Kagome walked into the house without announcing her arrival. She just didn't feel like seeing anyone. She was tired, all she wanted was a nap. She headed up to her room, stopping in the kitchen for some juice. "I just want it to be over." she thought to herself, staring into her grape juice. She wasn't sure if the end of her pregnancy would fix things though. Her life in the present would smooth over, but she wasn't as sure about the feudal era. Abortion was ingrained into modern day minds, she would just have to place the Jizo Miroku had given her at the shrine and say prayers for her baby's soul. It would probably work, even without Inuyasha. That's what was bothering her, Inuyasha. His absence was amplified by her constant thoughts of him. It seemed perverse that the product of their physical love seemed to be what had driven him away. She sighed and finished her juice. There's nothing to be done.

Kagome flopped face down onto her bed. She was so tired lately. It had to be something to do with the pregnancy. Even when it wasn't obvious to everyone else, she was becoming increasingly aware of the changes in her body. She looked up at the open window, wondering if she had left it that way.

"Kagome." It was Inuyasha. She had been so caught up in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed that he was standing in the dark room. He walked over and sat on the bed next to her.

"Inuyasha, what are you doing here?" She asked, sitting up to face him.

"I need to talk to you Kagome." He answered gently, searching her eyes for answers to his unasked questions. Kagome nodded, encouraging him. "What I've been wondering is... I mean, what I said before... I was surprised and... uh... Are you sure this isn't a mistake?" He looked at her, searching.

"What do you mean a mistake? Wouldn't it be a bigger mistake to not..." Her voice trailed off as her thoughts scattered. Suddenly she was not sure.

"What I mean is, It's so rare for a demon-human coupling to produce a child. It seems like we're just ignoring that. If we don't appreciate what we have, we can't be sure it will be offered to us again. I mean, if we don't keep the baby, someone else might get it."

"by reincarnation." Kagome added, relieved that Inuyasha seemed willing to participate in the necessary rituals to speed along their child's reincarnation.

"So maybe you shouldn't... I mean it wouldn't be that bad if we had a baby. Everyone knows already - right?" he reached over and took he hand in his, squeezing it encouragingly.

"That's what you want?" Kagome asked, still unsure.

"Just think about it. Would it really ruin everything?"

"But Naraku, and the Shikon jewel-"

"It's not that long." He smiled gently. "You think, even if Naraku does get the rest of the shards, that we won't beat that bastard? It's only ten months, right? Then we can keep on."

Kagome shook her head. "That's not realistic Inuyasha. How will we keep on with a baby?"

He shrugged, "We've got Shippo. He's little, weak and useless. I bet our pup would be cuter, and tougher too." Kagome had to smile at that. She had been trying hard not to think about what the baby would look like if it were born. It wasn't so bad when Inuyasha said it like that. Still, she wasn't convinced about his idea. Her mind raced, trying to find the words to explain why she couldn't become a teenage mother.

"It's ok, if you need to think about it." He said tenderly, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to him. Kagome relaxed in his embrace, resting her head on firm warmth of his chest. She was so tired, and listening to Inuyasha's heartbeat was so soothing. "if nothing else" she thought, "I do love him"

"It's a boy!" the nurse smiled at Kagome, handing her a small bundle wrapped in a blue blanket. She peered inside at the angelic face of a newborn baby.

"Look at those ears!" she grinned up at Inuyasha. He smiled back at her.

The door opened and Kagome smiled as her mom and Souta walked in, carrying flowers and a balloon. "Lemme see!" Souta demanded, standing on his tip-toes to try and get a peek at the new addition.

"This is Inuchiisai, your nephew." Kagome said as she showed the infant to her brother.

"Now Kagome, it's bad luck to introduce your son before his naming day." her mother chided, smiling at the sleeping infant. Kagome smiled and watched her baby sleep. He really was the cutest, and most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

Inuyasha sighed. "there's nothing to be done."

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked, frowning at Inuyasha's pained expression. Her mom and Souta seemed to have left her alone with him.

"We can't take him back to the feudal era, Kagome." He said, reaching for the infant.

"But, you said..." He was too strong for her, the baby seemed to slip out of her grasp easily.

"There's nothing to be done." he said again, as if it were some comfort to her.

"no" Kagome gasped in horror as her eyes burst open.

"What is it?" Inuyasha asked, as she looked around the room. Kagome put her hand on her stomach and looked at Inuyasha.

"a dream." she whispered, remembering the child's sweet face. Maybe Inuyasha was right. Maybe it was a mistake.

"This is the twelfth week." she said. "My appointment is on Thursday, but if I skip it, we only have ten more weeks to decide. After that, I can't have the abortion." Inuyasha smiled slightly.

"you mean, you're not going to do it?" he asked.

"I need to think about it. I'm not sure anymore." Kagome shook her head as a tear rolled down her cheek. It still seemed like there wasn't anything to do about it, but she couldn't just ignore her dream either.

"I'm going to reschedule my appointment. Two more weeks." Inuyasha nodded.

"I'm staying with you here. Until it's over or you come back with me, I want to stay here." Kagome nodded. She was glad he wasn't leaving again. She was glad he had come.

"Mom, we need to talk." Kagome said as she took a seat at the kitchen table. Inuyasha followed suit, sitting on her left and taking her hand. Kagome's mother put down the knife she was slicing carrots with.

"What's this about Kagome? You can't keep rescheduling the abortion. It will be worse if you wait." She said as she took a seat at the table.

"No mom, I don't want to reschedule. Inuyasha and I have decided not to do it. We want to have our baby." She smiled weakly at her mother. In all her sixteen years she had never stood up to her mother like this. She felt so grown up, and so childlike all at once. Never without Inuyasha would she have even considered having a baby. She squeezed his hand slightly, drawing strength and courage from him. Since when was she afraid of her mother anyway?

"You know that's impossible Kagome." Her mom looked from her to Inuyasha. "I just want you to do what's best, and an abortion is best for now. You're too young." She looked sympathetically at them both, but stood firm.

"No, mom, I can't do it. There's no way to know if we would ever have the chance again. I'd never forgive myself if I rejected this baby now, and never again got the opportunity. You don't know how rare it is for a human and demon to have a child. This is not something I can just throw away."

Mrs. Higurashi sighed. "How will you raise a child with the life you lead, Kagome? Babies are a lot of work and you are not ready to settle down with a family. I doubt Inuyasha is either. You two have to consider what it would mean to have a child. Your whole lives will change. I just can't see you giving up this quest in the feudal age, and high school. Everything, Kagome, and Inuyasha will have to settle down too. You will have to take care of her and your child."

Inuyasha sniffed. "I already do take care of her. We're fine. It's not like we're not willing to sacrifice some things. We're just not willing to give up so easily."

"Mom" Kagome looked to her mother, "We're going to do it. You're right about everything, but it will be ok. We're both strong enough to do this."

Mrs. Higurashi nodded. "I guess I'm going to be a grandmother." she sighed. Kagome and Inuyasha smiled.

Kagome smiled and held up the box for Inuyasha to see.

"It's exactly what we'll need." She told him, "This way I can carry the little one on my back while we travel. Inuyasha looked at her quizzically.

"If the baby's on your back, how will you carry your backpack?" he asked.

"Dummy, someone else will have to carry my backpack. You could try it!" Inuyasha shrugged and scratched his ears through the baseball cap he was wearing to cover them. Now that he was living in Kagome's time, he had to wear modern clothes to keep from attracting too much attention. He was uncomfortable in such form-fitting garments. Kagome wasn't showing her condition yet, and was still attending school, so he only had to dress like this when she wanted him to shop with her.

"Well, this is all we need. Let's go find Mom and go to the checkout." Kagome smiled as she led the way, weaving through the maze of merchandise toward her mother. Suddenly she stopped and grabbed her stomach in pain, dropping the box on the floor. It felt like someone had stabbed her in the abdomen. Fear ripped through her as she felt a gush of warmth between he legs.

"Kagome, what's wrong?" Inuyasha knocked over a rack of baby clothes as he pushed his way in front of her, kneeling down to where she was crouched and putting his hands on her shoulders. She sobbed.

"Inuyasha, the baby-" she managed before losing consciousness.

Kagome awoke slowly and watched the white celing above her. Did that really happen? Must have, nothing seemed familiar here.

"Kagome? You awake?" It was Inuyasha's voice. He sounded so somber, like he was afraid to even hope for her consciousness.

"mmm." she managed, turning to the sound of his voice. "Inuyasha, what happened?"

"Kagome." He took her hand tenderly. "the baby's gone." His voice was barely a whisper, but his words tore into her mind and echoed loudly.

"Gone?" She sniffed, staring tearfully at his profile. He watched the floor as if it held the answer to their grief.

"yes." Inuyasha sat silent after that, listening to the sounds of her quiet weeping. After several minutes, he reached for her hand and turned to look at her.

"We were wrong. It wasn't meant to be."

Kagome nodded shakily.

"There's nothing to be done."

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Author Notes:

Well, hope this made you think, even if it's not the most fun thing in the world. Thanks for reading.


	3. Epilogue

22 Weeks or 10 Months

Inuyasha Fanfiction

By Kittyonnails

Prologue

Sango sighed as she slipped into the steaming water. A hot spring was a luxury afforded her by luck on this journey. She wasn't alone much anymore. Even now that things seemed to be settling down a bit, it seemed like Miroku was always around. She winced at the thought of the monk. She, along with all her friends, more than suspected Miroku's feelings for her.

"I'll never let him know." She swore to the sky.

Sango had felt her affection for the lecherous monk growing from the start. Kagome's recent condition had just added salt to the wound. She knew that she would never be able to do the thing Miroku so consistently requested of every woman he met. She wondered it he was watching her now. It saddened her to think about it. The extreme injuries she had sustained in the battle with Naraku that had nearly taken her life along with her family had healed well enough for her to seek vengeance. They had not healed well enough for her to bear children. Without her womanly cycle, Sango knew she was infertile. Kagome's accidental pregnancy had only reminded her of what she could not have.

Sango sighed heavily. "How can she do that, just throw away the chance?" She asked the forest.

"She is from a world far different from ours." Came the reply. Sango knew the voice, Miroku was indeed watching her.

"Show yourself, Monk." She commanded, turning around to watch him emerge from the cover of some nearby bushes. He smiled like a little boy caught sneaking sweets.

"Join me?" she asked, suddenly not caring if he saw her. She knew he wasn't going to try anything serious unless she consented. Alone in the forest, it didn't seem to matter if she relaxed a bit.

"But..." Miroku sounded surprised, and unsure.

"You see me right? It's only fair." She excused. Of course that was a dumb reason, but he seemed willing enough to accept it. Miroku climbed out of his robes and slid into the hot spring next to her.

"You really think it's ok?" Sango asked, trying not to blush at Miroku's naked form shimmering beneath the moonlit water.

He sank deeper into the water, leaving only his head exposed, leaning it on the rocky edge of the spring. His eyes searched the stars for an answer.

"It would be a tragic decision, if she were indeed capable of bearing the child." He said at last, keeping his eyes fixed on the night sky.

"But she did conceive. That alone is said to be no small feat. Why wouldn't she be able to bear the child too?"

"Inuyasha is strong, even as a half-demon. Have you noticed how our opponents mock him for his human blood, only to be astonished by his power?"

Sango nodded, "But that's because they don't anticipate his Tetsusaiga - right?"

"No. It is because almost no human is capable of bearing a child to a demon as powerful as Inuyasha's father. It is only slightly more likely that Kagome would be able to bear Inuyasha's children. Even if she did not end her pregnancy, the life inside of her is likely to extinguish of it's own accord. The demon blood in Inuyasha, passed on to his unborn child would likely be too much for it. Unless they conceived the child during one of Inuyasha's brief human times, the chances are slim. It is as likely as you and I creating a child." He kept his gaze upward.

"Miroku." Sango whispered, caught of guard. "You know? How?"

He turned to look at her, the faintest hint of a smile on his otherwise placid face. "I didn't say it was impossible."

Sango looked away, ashamed of her weakness. Miroku leaned in closer, kissing her blushing cheek.

"It's alright Sango, perhaps no one in our band is meant to continue like this. Buddha is merciful, and will give us the gifts we are meant to have. If Inuyasha and Kagome are not meant to have a child, they will have other joys. It is the same for you." He reached an arm around her, pulling her softness to him. "All of us have Shippo to raise together now. After that, worry over other children. For now, let's all be happy for our blessings."

Sango nodded tearily and returned the monk's embrace.

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Author Notes:

I read the reviews and everyone begged for an update. That was supposed to be the end, but i did manage this poingiant little addition. Don't bother begging for more now though. I'm really done with this. A story has to end somewhere you know.

Also, thanks for reading. Your reviews were all very much appreciated


	4. At Long Last

22 Weeks or 10 Months: At Long Last

Inuyasha Fanfiction

By Kittyonnails

Kagome winced at the dizziness as she got out of bed. She was pregnant again, had been for a few weeks. God, did she hate being pregnant. It would be different if she ever bore a child, but after her first pregnancy it seemed the life inside her simply came and went on it's own accord. She was thirty-one years old and still, despite being pregnant for most of it, she was childless. It was a cruel fate that had made her love a man, a hanyou, whose seed she was not equip to carry.

Life certainly had been unique to Kagome. Born a child of the twentieth century, but the reincarnation of a feudal-era miko. That had led to such adventure in her youth. It seemed like their lives had slowed since then. It was some ten-odd years ago when their quest had com to an end. Kagome had made such close friends in the feudal age, not to mention fallen in love with a hanyou. That was why she stayed there.

Inuyasha had instantly caught Kagome's attention, and she had been held there ever since. It was no small feat, the many obstacles their love had endured. Numbering high on the list was their infertility. It seemed the demon blood in his veins refused to be diluted further. Cruelly, this did not prevent her from becoming pregnant. In fact, they had found, nothing could. No mater how many times she became pregnant though, she rarely made it past the first trimester. Only once had she carried to term. How devastating when their little boy was stillborn. If it weren't for her ability to travel to her own time for medical care, she would have died from it long ago.

They were fated to be only two, by now they had begun to accept it. Kagome just wished she did not have to constantly suffer these fleeting pregnancies. She smiled down at Inuyasha as she snoozed on the futon. She was glad to have him. Even childless and mundane, their life together was something she would never give up.

Six months ago, Kagome's mother had taken ill. Four years before that she had lost her Grandfather. With Sota away at University, Kagome and Inuyasha had moved into her childhood home and time to take care of her mother. Kagome did miss the little hut they had shared for so long, but had to admit that her family home had it's own set of comforts. Plumbing and electricity numbered highly among them.

She was glad to be able to care for her mother. The diagnosis was cancer and nothing short of a miracle would extend her life more than a few years, so the doctor's said. It was quite a blow to Kagome, and having Inuyasha with her was the only thing that kept her going some days. If it weren't for him her whole life would be so different.

It was something Kagome was reminded of often now that they were in her own time. She had abandoned school wholeheartedly at age seventeen. She was deep into their quest for the Shikon-no-Tama, and deeply in love with Inuyasha. That was when her plans to stay in the feudal era had begun. It seemed the longer she lived among her friends from the past, the more accustomed to it she became. By the time her quest ended, she only returned home every three months. Even then, it was just to visit her family. She never lost her taste for all products of her time, but her reliance on them all but vanished. Kaedae had taught her much about healing and other skills essential to a miko.

Had she remained in her own time, she would have attended University like her little brother. She would have chosen a career, gotten married, and had a child or two. She did have a career. Luckily for her, her family was responsible for a shrine and many sacred sites. Kagome most of all knew how powerful the landmarks on the grounds were. It was the prefect place for a Shinto priestess. Now that they were home, she was even pursuing her high school degree online.

They never did get married though. It would have been too much, and she had abandoned thoughts of it. There was no way to be married in her time, Inuyasha did not exist there, on paper anyway. In feudal Japan, it was not necessary. By the time their quest was over, Kagome and Inuyasha had endured more together than most married couples did in a lifetime. All the life-threatening battles, nights of passion, and long nights of worry made a wedding ceremony seem ridiculous. All their experiences had wedded them to each other like no ceremonial sake could ever do.

Kagome slipped out of the bedroom she and Inuyasha shared. It was time to make breakfast. Though he showed no sign, he was awake and would be on his way to her mother's bedroom. The cancer had begun in her mom's breast, but gone undetected for far too long. There wasn't really much free of it by the time anyone found out what was going on. Kagome often wondered if she would have noticed her mother's illness earlier and convinced her to see the doctor, had she been home.

All they could do now was care for her weakening body. As on most mornings, Inuyasha would help her mother in the bath while Kagome prepared breakfast. Though it was her mother, it was most often Inuyasha who tended to her. For any number of reasons he never complained about it, and Kagome was left free to attend to her duties as priestess. Compared to the feudal era, her duties were few. That was fine, since the modern age brought its own set of challenges. For the first time, money was a concern for them. That was solely Kagome's responsibility. They were making it, the shrine would support them so long as they kept to a budget. Sota's tuition was difficult to afford though. Sometimes she did miss her other home.

Inuyasha stretched his arms lazily as Kagome left their bedroom. He sat up and pulled his yukata over his shoulders. He had noticed the curve of Kagome's belly. How long had it been? He wondered. Not that he bothered to track Kagome's pregnancies, but he couldn't help the glimmer of hope he felt whenever they advanced enough to show. By now he knew that he was just setting himself up for disappointment, but he couldn't help it. He would never be able to give up all hope. If his parents could have him, against all odds, they could have a child as well.

He slid the door open and smiled at Mrs. Higurashi. She was already awake, watching the shopping channel on her little TV. She beamed at him, as usual.

"Good-morning, Inuyasha." she pointed at the TV, "What do you think of that?"

He wrinkled his nose at the mysterious object, "What is it?"

"Makeup. Do you think it would help?" She stretched the skin on her face, trying to smooth the wrinkles and gestured across the hollows under her eyes.

"I don't know what it would do." He answered half-honestly. "I think a bath would help though." He said cheerily, turning off the little TV. Mrs. Higurashi nodded in agreement.

"And after that, breakfast." she added.

Kagome was sweeping the stone steps that welcomed visitors to the shrine. It was a job she had neglected for some two weeks, much longer than she should have. It was autumn, and dry leaves were heaped up on every stair. Kagome was feeling a bit nostalgic as she worked, thinking of how her grandfather had lectured her about this task so often.

She almost jumped out of her skin at an unfamiliar sensation. It was a stirring within her. The doomed baby she was carrying had moved. Only once had she ever felt that. Her hands dropped the broom, clasping her swollen belly. This pregnancy had progressed unusually far, but there had been no signs like this from her body for many years. By the gods, the last time she had felt movement in her womb was ten years ago.

Should she tell Inuyasha? Kagome knew that he always watched her pregnancies with interest, no matter how many times her womb proved incapable of finishing what it began. Especially when it began to become obvious, he would become hopeful. It had been almost four years since she had been this far along. How far along was she? Kagome really had no idea. She wasn't in the habit of monitoring her pregnancies, since they never amounted to anything. It was merely a pain when they developed so far, because she would have to see her doctor about it.

She looked down at the bump of her stomach.

"Don't lead me on. If you're not going to make it, just die right now. It's not fair to me or to him." She told the unborn child. Kagome wondered if this baby would take her advice. If she could command the life within her body, she would command it to live. That had proven to be beyond her power many times over. The movement, though unusual, was not enough to convince her to hope. She had hardened her heart to the many unborn children that had grown and then faded into oblivion inside her. I was more like an illness than a pregnancy to her now. That this one had caught enough of her attention to be spoken to was unusual.

She wouldn't tell Inuyasha. It woudn't amount to anything anyway. Even the ones that kicked her from inside eventually succumbed to the youkai blood in their veins and were silenced. Kagome didn't want to see the hope in her lover's face when she had given up that same hope.

"What was that?" Inuyasha leaned over to peer at Kagome's stomach. It had continued to swell and she was as large as she had ever been. He was beginning to wonder if this one was going to be the one they had waited for. Kagome didn't talk about it, but he had seen the movements of the child within her. This time it was unmistakable. The sheet that covered her belly had literally jumped. He wanted to talk about it, and with such unmistakable evidence of life she would have to at least talk to him about it.

"I guess it's still alive." Kagome looked from her book to her bellybutton disinterestedly.

"I know it is. I can hear it's heart from here." Inuyasha looked at her seriously. Kagome put down her book and scanned his features delicately. He knew she preferred to ignore their children who would never be. It was her way of dealing with the pain. He understood that it was easier for her than grieving for each lost baby. It was a pattern they had settled into over the years.

It was different for him though, since he could sense the life inside her once it reached a certain level of maturity. Since the life was unmistakable to him, he had no choice but to acknowledge it, if only to himself. Forced to think about the child growing inside Kagome, Inuyasha found that hopefulness comforted him most. At least there was a chance, a possibility that the tiny heart would not stop beating.

"Inuyasha." She said his name meaningfully, placing his hand on her stomach. "I'm afraid this is all we will ever have. Our children are fated never to be born, so simply enjoy the fleeting life this one does have." She said, watching him as he smoothed his large hands over her midsection.

"Okay then. What shall we call this one?" he asked.

"No, no naming." Kagome said softly.

"This time, I think we should. It's not every child who makes it so far."

Kagome nodded, seeming to acquiesce out of tiredness for this never-ending dialogue. "Then give it a girls name"

Inuyasha nodded. All their children had been boys, not counting the many who faded away before developing their gender. Perhaps, they had thought, a girl child would survive. Either that, or it was their sons who made it so far and the daughters who died before making their presence known.

"Miki" he said with a grin.

The labor pains had caught Kagome unaware. It was really rare that she would actually birth her child, and even she felt a surge of hope as the pain ripped through her. Inuyasha had carried her to bed and was doing his best to accommodate her. She knew they were both hoping, beyond reason, that this baby would live.

"I can still hear her heartbeat." He told her excitedly as he sponged the sweat from Kagome's brow. She nodded, trying to breathe in short bursts as another pain wracked her. They had been waiting out the pains for three hours, and still the baby had not come.

Kagome screamed as she felt her over-used womb contract. She pushed, forcing the child out of her body, alive or dead. She was praying for alive, and had been for the last two months. It was only in those last two months that she had allowed herself to think that their child might actually survive to be born. Every day, Inuyasha had assured her that the baby's heart still beat inside her. Miki, too, had reassured her mother by pummeling her organs mercilessly.

"Inuyasha" Kagome hissed through the pain of her stretching genitals. "If this one doesn't live, I can't bear it!" she told him meaningfully, her pain amplifying her anticipated anguish.

"Kagome, I can see her head." He stared between her legs with astonishment. "She's still hanging on."

Inuyasha moved to sit near Kagome's ankles and catch the baby as it emerged. His heart soared as he recognized two small pointed ears folded to the top of the small skull. The rest of the infant's head emerged, scrunched up like an umeboshi. Kagome gasped for air and screamed loudly as the rest of the little body eased out of hers.

Once Kagome quieted, the baby's own cries could be heard. It was like drinking cool water after accepting a fate of death by thirst. Kagome and Inuyasha both laughed loudly as he held their daughter up for her to see.

"My little Miki." Kagome cooed, "I never thought you would give me the chance to be your mother."

Tears were running down her face. Inuyasha was crying too, as he sponged the afterbirth off of the newborn. This was real. The baby had actually been born. After hoping for so long their wish had come true. They were parents.

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Author's Note:

Ok, my beloved audience of readers. You have prodded me, asking questions, insisting that I cannot end it, not yet, not ever. I could, I should, but I have an idea. So I won't. This is going to be the end of 22weeks or 10 Months. It is not the end of the story though. I have a separate story I would like to tell that will use this one as background. Either way, this should give you all the happy ending I was so against. I'd say you win, but I have more tragedy in store, so we shall see.

Thank you for reading, and please review.


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